20 Days In His Bedroom

Chapter Six

The man leaves us.

"What?" Nial waves his hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I blink, shaking off my thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Did you go to the party yesterday?" I ask, both to change the subject and because I genuinely want to know.

"Yeah," he says casually, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, his gaze fixed on the endless stretch of ocean.

I nod slowly.

"Did you have fun?" I ask, looking away as well, not wanting him to read my face.

"Yeah, it was... fun. You should've come," he says, his tone light.

"I wasn't in the mood," I admit, shaking my head. "Honestly, I still can't believe any of this is real."

"Oh," he replies, but oddly enough, he smiles. He's strange. So strange.

"Don't you feel the same? Lost... helpless?" I ask, trying to understand how he can be so indifferent.

"I'm already lost, Twyla. Nothing really changed for me," he says quietly, almost as if he's disappointed in life itself.

"What do you mean?" I turn to him, curious now.

"I mean... I don't have anyone waiting for me. No family. No one to worry about me like you do."

His words hit me like cold water. I think of my parents again. Of everything I might have lost.

"Don't you have any friends? Family? Maybe someone you love?" I hesitate, but then remember the photo I saw on his phone—him with a girl, clearly more than friends.

He finally turns to face me. His expression unreadable.

"Someone like who?" he asks, dodging the obvious.

"Like a girlfriend... or something," I say, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms.

"No. I don't have a girlfriend," he says with a smirk.

A lie. I know it's a lie. But I don't call him out on it. Maybe it's none of my business. Or maybe... he just doesn't want to talk about her. Either way, I drop it.

"Hey?" he waves again, interrupting my train of thought.

"Huh?"

"Will you ever stop saying 'huh' every time I try to snap you out of your head?"

"Nope." I raise an eyebrow playfully.

He chuckles.

"That's fate," I murmur, not realizing I said it aloud until he gives me a weird look. But he doesn't ask about it. Something tells me he knows what I mean. That it's fate that brought us here, on this cursed ship, floating in the middle of nowhere... together.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asks suddenly. His tone is casual, but he avoids eye contact.

"Why?" I reply quickly, sounding harsher than I intended.

"Well, I figured if you could ask, I could too," he shrugs, now locking eyes with me.

His eyes really do look like the ocean. But warmer. Safer. His face is flawless—smooth skin, neat eyebrows, soft pink lips. And his hair... golden, like sunlight. He reminds me of a guy from school they used to call the good-haired one.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend," I finally answer. "Never did, actually," I add, biting my lip. Why did I even say that?

"What did you just say? Never?" He looks genuinely shocked.

I nod, forcing a smile. Not because I'm ashamed, but because I don't know how someone like him would react to someone like me.

"You?" I ask quickly, flipping the question. "Ever had a girlfriend before?"

"Me?" He grins. "Yeah. A lot, actually."

I blink. That's not something to brag about, I think.

"I feel sorry for you," I say bluntly.

"Sorry? Why?"

"Do you still love any of them?"

He laughs. Actually laughs.

"What?"

"You said love, right? You're so innocent, Twy," he says, using my nickname as he rubs my shoulder like I'm some kind of child.

My stomach flutters. Not from the touch, maybe, but the way he says my name.

"Really? So all I thought I knew about love was a lie?" I scoff.

"Not a lie... just not my version. You don't have to love someone to date them. At least, not in my world," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and sighing.

I giggle, mostly at how ridiculous that sounds.

"You said I'm bloodless before—add heartless to that list," he says, flashing a grin.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that—"

"You don't have to explain. Sometimes I feel that way too," he cuts me off.

"Well, I won't argue with that," I say with a laugh, and he laughs too.

"You know," he says suddenly, "you don't have to lie about never having a boyfriend."

"I didn't lie. Why would I?" I sit down, suddenly tired from standing. He joins me.

"Exactly. That's why I believe you," he shrugs.

I laugh softly. "I'm not the one who lied."

He raises an eyebrow. "Me?"

I look around, pretending to check if anyone else is nearby.

"Yeah, you."

He points at himself, grinning. "I guess I did."

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